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With Vaccines, Bill Gates Changes The World Again

The blogosphere still expels dark plumes of “I Hate Bill Gates” posts and websites, accusing him of bilking taxpayers because Seattle granted him free land to build the new campus or spreading autism through vaccines (now a widely discredited theory) or of playing God through his foundation. Some clinicians criticize him, wistfully, for fixating on vaccines to the exclusion of other medical causes. But for someone once pilloried as the Antichrist of technology, a brutal monopolist who strangled innovation, this generosity—less of the heart than the head—has made him a saint among those most familiar with his efforts. “A powerful voice to protect millions of children in developing countries from dying,” says Andrin Oswald, head of vaccines at Novartis. Adds William Foege, a Gates ally best known for his role in eradicating smallpox: “What has happened in the last decade is something we could never have dreamed of. It will change forever what society looks like.”

The billionaire, for his part, waves off most of the adulation. When I told Gates that Foege compared him to Maurice Hilleman, the researcher who developed vaccines for measles, mumps and a half-dozen other diseases, Gates faintly blushed. “He actually did it, though. I mean, his lab at Merck, they really did it.”

But Gates did something, too. It had nothing to do with lab work, and everything to do with the problem-solving skills unique to someone who has created an entire industry.

When I asked Gates to grade himself on which of his accomplishments—computer software or inoculations— was more important, his calculating mind whirled straight into action. “I’d say, it’s pretty hard to make that comparison,” he says. “In terms of lives saved, vaccines would just totally win out.” Then he ponders some more. Both vaccines and personal computers, he says, rank “right up there with the printing press and fire.” On its face, an astoundingly hubristic statement. But Gates says it without even a hint of braggadocio. It’s just cold, hard, ­reasoned fact.

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“Bill Gates is changing the world again through another cheap technology–vaccines.”

Actually this effort by the foundation his father runs is atypical if it is reducing the cost of vaccines. For decades the illegal and monopolistic practices of Gates’ company killed companies like Lotus and discouraged innovation while keeping the cost of computer software artificially high. The Microsoft OS and Office applications still cost more than the computers on which they run.

Not surprising that Gates is following in the footsteps of other robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, Leland Stanford, and Andrew Carnegie in wishing to burnish his image for posterity. Unfortunately what would help the most would be to change back the patent and copyright laws that allow big Pharma to control the vaccines, even those developed with public funding, for decades. But to fix that might jeopardize Microsoft so it is not even on the table.

You have it wrong. Bill Gates and Microsoft made computers cheap and available to everyone. It would have taken many more years to achive the success of computing and the internet without Microsoft. Apple has kept its prices far higher and is far more agressive at stamping out competion than Mircosoft ever was. Microsoft’s competion paid politicians to trump up charges of a monopoly while up to that time Microsolf did not donate to poloticians nor have lobbist in Washington DC.

“the illegal and monopolistic practices of Gates’ company killed companies like Lotus”

Oh puh-lease. Lotus wrecked itself by paying astronomical salaries to its executives, something like 50 times what Gates was paid, who made his money from company shares not taken from company revenue. Borland was much the same, the company funding vanity projects for the CEO.

“The Microsoft OS and Office applications still cost more than the computers on which they run.”

They’re only now at this level of cost because a) Microsoft brought down the cost of packaged software from the astronomical rates that Lotus et al charged in both real and numerical terms, and b) because industrial scaling makes hardware cheaper far faster than it makes human costs cheaper. Would you prefer that Microsoft paid workers like Apple’s Chinese factory employees? Would you prefer to pay the individual license costs of all the technologies that Microsoft gets bulk rates for when embedded in Windows and Office?

lyonheart is correct. Gates and his company, Microsoft, have done nothing more than release crappy products at high prices. Microsoft has yet to release something “innovative,” and has on many occasions rejected and destroyed competition in the software market. Prime examples include the actions towards Lotus, the theft of Mosiac(internet explorer), the theft of the windows GUI from the Apple Machintosh project, and the release of MS-DOS. When purchasing a new machine, $250 of that cost goes to Microsoft for the standard operating system installed. Another $150 goes to Microsoft with the purchase of Microsoft office. $400 spent of two software applications is outright theft when you consider that most basic machines cost bwtween$250-500. And on top of that, Microsoft essentially sells beta software to unsuspecting users, which creates security flaws and application errors. Gates entering the Pharma business is nothing more than an act to receive positive PR.41justice, as far as Apple is concerned, look at the market share. Apple competes as a hardware company and a software company. They have low market shares, and therefor price their products(which has better hardware and better software) at competitive prices to stay afloat in the industry. In the 1990′s, Apple competed with lower end machines, finding no success in the market, and almost went out of business. The Apple II was the first aforradable, successful, and powerful machine released to the market. Apple is in many ways a much more socially acceptable company then Microsoft.

Microsoft deceived IBM first by selling them a product they did not have. Microsoft solved this problem by purchasing MS-DOS for the Seattle Computer Company. Microsoft then further deceived IBM by working on OS/2 while planning the release of Windows.

“Bill Gates and Microsoft made computers cheap and available to everyone.”

A few facts:

Almost all of the profit in a basic PC goes to Microsoft for their overpriced operating system Windows. If there had been decent competition in operating systems, Microsoft would have given Windows away in the hopes that would get the person to buy their other software, e.g. Office, Powerpoint etc..

Great story!! To me, Bill Gates is a genius and, like a genius, he changed the world with his revolutionary way of think and make bussiness… and I have a good job thanks to Microsoft’s sotware… I just can say: Thanks Bill Gates.

My greatest concern for our lives as human beings is our ability to say practically anything and do even so brilliantly. The human mind has an almost infinite capacity for arguing the position it favours for one reason or the other.

In no sentence can the word, “monopolistic” be used to suggest something positive as you do in the statement, “You’re ignoring how the same tactics that seemed monopolistic with Microsoft can result in cheaper products here”. How can you connect the practice (monopoly) with the result of cheaper drugs?

I know that Bill is only living in a world he did not create and operating in a business environment with rules of engagement not of his making. Still, with his 56Billion, he can do more to really change the world.

I sincerely apologize but it’s mentality such as yours which keeps people enslaved under dictators in several places all over the world.

You don’t get it. Bill didn’t do you any favour. If you have a job, it’s because there is a need and you can fill it. Does Bill do the job for you? Are you saying if he never existed, and you did, you wouldn’t have a job. Certainly not. You would, just not the one you do connected in some way to Microsoft.

We need to have a more accurate sense of what we are, so that we can do our bit to make the world a truly classless one.